O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading on-ward, leading homeward to my glorious rest above!
These words written by Samuel Trevor Francis in the late 19th century lingered in the air as the cup was being passed and you could see in the faces of the people that they were being deeply moved. Not because of the arrangement of the song but because of the power and truth of the words.
I think about when I lived in North Carolina and how my wife and I would make day trips to the ocean shore. I loved it when the waves were high. My most memorable trip was one in which my father was with me. After some gentle coaxing and a goading comment or two my father finally joined me in the water and after catching our breath because of the chilliness of the water, we were splashing and laughing like a couple of school boys. We would watch the waves come in and try to jump over them only to be thrown back by their force. Eventually, we stopped fighting against the waves and started to allow them to move us where they wanted to and we began to enjoy the moment even more. Some family members who were watching kept shouting "Free Willy" but that is another story. We were relishing the immenseness of the waves. Eventually, we stumbled out of the water smiling and laughing and my dad told me it had be 30 years since he last swam in the ocean and he had forgotten how much fun it was.
The love of Jesus - unmeasured, boundless free, rolling over me as a mighty ocean, underneath and all around me. What an incredible picture! When was the last time you thought about His love like this. It is always there. Are you struggle with sickness, family discord, financial difficulty, school, work? Or is life going well for you? Whatever the case may be. Think about His love and how it can completely surround you and carry you along. Stop struggling against it and embrace it.
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best! ’Tis an o-cean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest! O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me; And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!
Shalom!
